My Favourite Adventure Sport
I dont know why people believe that the average human being's life isnt frought with thrills and excitement. I believe people living their mundane lives face dangers and perils far greater than adventure sports enthusiasts, a club that i am a reluctant albeit active member of. The other day I was having a conversation with my backpacking buddy about the good times we had backpacking and trying out new thrills and out of the blue he pops the question ... " So whadya think is the most daring adventure sport ?" This question got me thinking for quite a while and finally the answer that appeared out of this contemplation was quite surprising. So here I am extolling the virtues of my favourite adventure sport .. Travelling in Mumbai local trains!
Alright i can actually picture the raised eyebrows of people reading this blog ( if there are any reading it that is!) but hold on to your horses for a minute willya. I admit this sport does not have the same glamour as jumping several feet off a ramp at high speeds or having the surf of perilious streams you navigate in your precarious little raft splashing in your face but travelling by mumbai locals has a little bit of everything for all you adventure sports enthusiasts. Let me give you a blow by blow account of what you go through on an average rush hour trip on a mumbai local.
First off you wait at the station waiting for the first train to arrive your senses primed like a hunter on an african safari. You see the minute speck approaching closer and you feel your muscles tighten in anticipation. As the train gently chugs into the station unaware of what lies in wait like the innocent game being stalked by a hound of wolves you jostle for space at the edge of the platform so that you can be the first one to get in. When the train finally stops you either pounce on the happless train or get carried into it by a wave of humanity that the most seasoned surfer would be proud to ride. Now that you are in the real fun begins. You find a way to wriggle into the last remnants of empty space contorting you body in wierd positions and balancing on two toes of your left leg in a way that would give the best yogis a complex. Suddenly your nose catches a strong odour and you realise that you are in a train full of people who believe that spraying themselves with fake brut is a more hygenic substitute for taking a shower.
The next thrill is only for people who have to live with the curse of being above six feet tall in India where the public transportation system seems to have been created for people slightly shorter than adolescent hobbits ( Hope Tolkein doesnt have a trademark on this one ). The station arrives and somewhere behind you some person lets go off the handlebar and it comes and not so gently hits you on the head PLONK!! you move forward and PLONK!! another handlebar hits you on the head again .. you keep oscillating this way at the same time bracing yourself against the tsunami of people trying to get in till you feel you are a pendulum in one of those old clock towers. Finally after you have killed enough brain cells ( now you know why this piece sounds so dumb dontcha !) the train moves on to its next destination. After you have been through enough of such thrilling experiences its time for that final head rush! You have to GET OFF! You start inching towards the exit with the dexterity of a rock climber squeezing himself through the smallest crevices of mountains till you can finally see light ( or the slums which are at a hands lenght.. either one works) and you see a faint sight of the station. The train slows down and you feel like you are being jutted off the top of a terribly active volcano. Miraculously enough you seem to land on your feet and sadly your journey is over. Now you wait for when you have to take the train back home with bated breath ( or maybe you are just practicising holding your breath so that you dont have to take in the stink when you are in the train)
So there was a description of the most daring adventure sport in the world. Dontchu wanna try it?
P.S: Details like groping and leching by fat middle aged and apparently homosexual men have been left out mainly because the blogger is too embarrassed to admit he has been subjected to it
I dont know why people believe that the average human being's life isnt frought with thrills and excitement. I believe people living their mundane lives face dangers and perils far greater than adventure sports enthusiasts, a club that i am a reluctant albeit active member of. The other day I was having a conversation with my backpacking buddy about the good times we had backpacking and trying out new thrills and out of the blue he pops the question ... " So whadya think is the most daring adventure sport ?" This question got me thinking for quite a while and finally the answer that appeared out of this contemplation was quite surprising. So here I am extolling the virtues of my favourite adventure sport .. Travelling in Mumbai local trains!
Alright i can actually picture the raised eyebrows of people reading this blog ( if there are any reading it that is!) but hold on to your horses for a minute willya. I admit this sport does not have the same glamour as jumping several feet off a ramp at high speeds or having the surf of perilious streams you navigate in your precarious little raft splashing in your face but travelling by mumbai locals has a little bit of everything for all you adventure sports enthusiasts. Let me give you a blow by blow account of what you go through on an average rush hour trip on a mumbai local.
First off you wait at the station waiting for the first train to arrive your senses primed like a hunter on an african safari. You see the minute speck approaching closer and you feel your muscles tighten in anticipation. As the train gently chugs into the station unaware of what lies in wait like the innocent game being stalked by a hound of wolves you jostle for space at the edge of the platform so that you can be the first one to get in. When the train finally stops you either pounce on the happless train or get carried into it by a wave of humanity that the most seasoned surfer would be proud to ride. Now that you are in the real fun begins. You find a way to wriggle into the last remnants of empty space contorting you body in wierd positions and balancing on two toes of your left leg in a way that would give the best yogis a complex. Suddenly your nose catches a strong odour and you realise that you are in a train full of people who believe that spraying themselves with fake brut is a more hygenic substitute for taking a shower.
The next thrill is only for people who have to live with the curse of being above six feet tall in India where the public transportation system seems to have been created for people slightly shorter than adolescent hobbits ( Hope Tolkein doesnt have a trademark on this one ). The station arrives and somewhere behind you some person lets go off the handlebar and it comes and not so gently hits you on the head PLONK!! you move forward and PLONK!! another handlebar hits you on the head again .. you keep oscillating this way at the same time bracing yourself against the tsunami of people trying to get in till you feel you are a pendulum in one of those old clock towers. Finally after you have killed enough brain cells ( now you know why this piece sounds so dumb dontcha !) the train moves on to its next destination. After you have been through enough of such thrilling experiences its time for that final head rush! You have to GET OFF! You start inching towards the exit with the dexterity of a rock climber squeezing himself through the smallest crevices of mountains till you can finally see light ( or the slums which are at a hands lenght.. either one works) and you see a faint sight of the station. The train slows down and you feel like you are being jutted off the top of a terribly active volcano. Miraculously enough you seem to land on your feet and sadly your journey is over. Now you wait for when you have to take the train back home with bated breath ( or maybe you are just practicising holding your breath so that you dont have to take in the stink when you are in the train)
So there was a description of the most daring adventure sport in the world. Dontchu wanna try it?
P.S: Details like groping and leching by fat middle aged and apparently homosexual men have been left out mainly because the blogger is too embarrassed to admit he has been subjected to it
posted by Electric Shaman at 7:02 AM
2 Comments:
As someone who has experienced this particular adventure sport, have to say it's an extremely accurate and hilarious account!
:)
tell u what,i certainly find this sport amazigly thrilling.......
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